Agrokor completes acquisition of Slovenian retailer Mercator - EUR 544 million transaction

On Friday (27 June 2014), the Agrokor concern successfully closed the acquisition of 53-percent stake in Slovenia's Mercator Business System in a EUR 544 million financial transaction, thus becoming its majority owner, the Croatian company said in a release.

- Of the total value of this transaction of EUR 544 million, 324 million euro is used to acquire the 100% stake, EUR 200 million to reduce the financial obligations of the Slovenian retailer, and 20 million euro is set aside for operational funding of Mercator's current operations - Agrokor specified in a release submitted to Tanjug news agency.

The two companies will together generate an annual revenue of nearly EUR 7 billion, employing in excess of 64,000 people, and will become a leading company in the food retail and production sector in the region and beyond.

The president of the Agrokor group, Ivica Todoric, pointed out that Agrokor's takeover of majority stake in Mercator had resulted in the establishment of "the largest business system in transition countries."

Todoric noted that Croatia's membership in the European Union had secured a new dimension for his company's performance and development.

- Agrokor considers its employees the most important part of its business success and, therefore, enables them to develop personally and make progress - he said.

As he stressed, the merger of Agrokor and Mercator will increase the employment rate and also open up big opportunities for enhancing the quality of regional supply structure and enlarging the food and other industries.

- Finally, this integration will make it possible for all manufacturers in the region to further boost their sales and open up new markets - Todoric assessed.

Agrokor signed an agreement in June 2013 with a consortium of 12 owners of Mercator to acquire 53.12 percent of that company's shares from them. Based on some later arrangements with banks holding a stake in Mercator, Agrokor paid for a majority package of shares.